Jade West on Trial: A Warlock's Redemption and Confession
by Sicariothrax
Summary: When young Sorceress in training Victoria Vega's rival Jade West attempts to perform a ritualized bloodline curse on her, things go wrong and tragedy occurs. Twenty years later, Victoria attends a meeting of the Elder Wizards, and discovers that Jade is on trial for the use of Black sorcery and suspected use of Necromancy. AU Supernatural/Tragedy
1. The Old Memories return

The Warlock's Redemption: Jade West on Trial

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not possess the rights of ownership over the characters or setting of Victorious, copyrights or trademarks thereof are the property of Dan Schneider and his associates. I don't write for monetary compensation nor will I accept any recompense for this. I wrote this tale using the characters for purposes of entertainment and just for fun. No offense or infringement is intended, and I have no desire to anger the powers that be. The only thing of my own devising is the persona of Draco Magnus and the various characters of Clan Azhkaran, and the location of Kaer Drakaan. I don't own the hollowbrook hotel, and nor would I care to.**_

The Vega clan was old. Very old, full of Wizards and Sorceresses every other generation. Their names were on the rolls of honor for dedicated service to the Elders, that ruling body of all things supernatural and immortal. It was July 30th, in the year 2036. Beings from all walks of life, from the Sidhe of the Faerie courts to the drakes of clan Azhkaran would be attending a gathering called by the Eldest, Tarhiras Azhkaran himself. Even the mortal wizards like Victoria Vega and her family were summoned to the meeting upon penalty of censure. It was rumored that a renegade wizard or Sorceress had been hunted down and brought back for trial, and that the matter was greatly dire enough for the mighty and powerful to gather for such a mundane thing.

The Vega residence was in an uproar over the summons notice, each member gathering their formal outfits and other accoutrements necessary for the occasion. But one member was silent, almost mechanical in her motions. She was a tanned half-Latina with pronounced cheekbones, bright eyes, and luxurious brunette hair. On her finger was a ring that had a simple message in Latin: "Amo tu, Victoria. Semper fidelis, R.S.". After finishing packing her things, Victoria looked at the ring and burst into tears. She sobbed loudly, and wondered why the Elders would call a meeting on this day, of all days? The memories still hurt her after twenty years of grief, and she didn't want to go to the meeting, not now on this anniversary of the Incident at Hollowbrook. She wiped her tears away and sniffled as her magically enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of her cousin and sister coming to check on her.

"Tori, are you okay? We're going to be late for a meeting with the Elders" said Trina as she and Beck Oliver entered Victoria's sanctum. Trina was older than Victoria, and had dedicated her life to serving as a illusionist and actress for the Sidhe courts. Beck, by contrast, was a distant cousin of the Vega sisters, but close enough to act more like a brother at times. He had once been engaged to a Dark Sorceress but had called off the engagement when his fiancée went rogue and disappeared after Hollowbrook. Taking in the somber and downcast aspect to his favorite cousin's eyes, the Canadian Wizard spoke up: "Cousin, what are you thinking about?"

Victoria shook her head and got up, gesturing that she was ready to go. The three of them left the sanctum with their respective provisions and possessions, to the living room couches. David and Holly were waiting there, with a Portal Way already opened to Kaer Drakaan, the lair of the Eldest. The Vega clan stepped through the portal, and found themselves in a surprisingly modern underground series of caves. Everywhere around them were all sorts of beings chatting, laughing, and bartering in numerous languages, like something out of a mundane television show.

Victoria didn't care for this racket, she wanted to get this over with and go home, because she hated it when the Hollowbrook Incident would inevitably come up in conversation. "Twenty years ago, I lost the love of my life." That is all that she would say, whenever she did speak of the 'incident at the Hollowbrook Hotel' . Victoria Vega's tone often held a complicated mixture of longing, grief and rage when the subject matter would turn up in conversation. Her friends and family, especially her sister Katrina, her distant cousin Beckett Oliver, and her old master knew what Victoria meant by that statement. Victoria was an accomplished sorceress trained by several high-ranking wizards, including a drake named Draco Magnus, a seer named Erwin Sikowitz, and her father David Vega, an old student of Draco's. She wondered if Draco would be there, since he was the son of the Eldest, and consequently ten millennia old.

The Vegas and Beckett made their way to the far end of the atrium part of the caverns, passed several other caverns full of various beings doing business, and finally arrived at the Sanctum Sanitoria, the place where the Eldest and his peers held court over the denizens of the supernatural community. as they entered the sanctum, they saw a woman with a black hood obscuring their face, surrounded by a squad of Venators and guarded by old Draco himself. The Eldest, a massive drake that was eight feet tall with golden wings folded at his back, noticed the newcomers and announced to the assembled Elders: "Since our honored servants, the Vegas and Wizard Oliver have arrived, this gathering shall come to order. Venators, take the prisoner to the holding cell and ensure she does not escape. There are matters to observe here before the trial begins in earnest..."

Draco gestured for the vega sisters to sit at his right hand side, near the right hand postion near the Eldest. Victoria couldn't help smiling fondly at the old drake. Draco was terrifying as a person, a being that could be harsh, unforgiving, compassionate and still amazingly dedicated to the practice and art of magic. Draco had been the one put in charge of the initial training and instruction of Victoria and her peers when they were just kids. From the age of six until the children hit puberty, the drake instructed them in the basics of preparing spells, siphoning energies from their environment, and meditation. Draco emphasized to his pupils that magic took dedication and decades of practice to master, and frequently reminded them that ambition and envy are the pitfalls of learning magic.

Victoria recalled Draco's lesson on the use of emotions and motivation for casting a spell.

 _[Flashback]_

 _"Ambition is a wonderful thing to have, but it can blind you to what is truly important. So too is self-confidence, my students. Now confidence is a vital part of casting a spell- so remember this: once you commit yourself to unleashing the energies of a prepared spell, you cannot abandon the workings set in motion" said Draco in an intensely passionate tone of voice. At that age, everyone listened to the deep echoing voice of the scaled humanoid with the leathery wings, even Jade._

 _[Flashback End]_

 _[Flashback]_

 _Once, when they were practicing simple conjuring spells, Jade tormented Robbie by summoning little trickster spirits that shapeshifted into their victims' worst nightmares. Robbie's nightmare happened to be called Rex, the soul of a long dead ancestor bound to protect him and guide him in life. Rex's advice and attitude frequently put Robbie in dangerous situations when they weren't being supervised by Draco. Robbie's confidence wasn't at a high point at that time, so he couldn't conjure guardian entities to ward himself against Jade's servitors. Victoria had intervened by summoning the biggest guardian that she could think of: Draco himself. The drake disappeared from his place near Trina and Beck, where he had been answering their requests for advice, and reappeared right behind Jade. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HATCHLING?! Apprentice West, cease this pointless cruelty at once. Else, you will be sent to the Venator barracks to serve as target practice for the battle-mages. " roared Draco in a voice that caused all the apprentices to lose concentration on their spells. "...Yes sir, Master" said the small dour goth girl. Later, after the lesson had ended, Victoria and Jade were both disciplined for misuse of magic. Victoria was ordered to assist her father in his duties as a member of the Magus Praefectus, or Wizard police. This involved helping him do paperwork for captured renegade wizards who had committed various felonies, which proved to be a mindcrushingly dull task for the young sorceress. Jade, on the other hand, was forced to assist the healers in preparing potions and elixirs for sale to the Sidhe nobles visiting the drake's lair. That was a truly thankless task, as the exotic ingredients needed for the formulae involved many things that Jade considered to not be the good kind of pain._

 _[Flashback End]_


	2. The Eldest Speaks

The Eldest Speaks

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not possess the rights of ownership over the characters or setting of Victorious, copyrights or trademarks thereof are the property of Dan Schneider and his associates. I don't write for monetary compensation nor will I accept any recompense for this. I wrote this tale using the characters for purposes of entertainment and just for fun. No offense or infringement is intended, and I have no desire to anger the powers that be. The only thing of my own devising is the persona of Draco Magnus and the various characters of Clan Azhkaran, and the location of Kaer Drakaan, As well as Tribe AeDan . I don't own the Hollowbrook hotel, and nor would I care to.**_

 _A/n: For those who are wondering, yes there will be a little of each major ship pairing. Love is a complicated thing, and I am trying to demonstrate that in this tale._

Victoria was brought out of her memories by a comforting hand tipped with sharp talons on her shoulder. "You should not be letting your mind wander, Victoria," murmured Draco, "Pay attention to the proceedings." Victoria nodded, and turned her attention to the Eldest, noticing that the atmosphere in the room was tense. Trina and Beck were listening carefully, but they kept glancing at Victoria with concern.

The Eldest was explaining the matter that brought the community to gather here, in a tone that felt very calm and decisive: "the matter that we are here to discuss involves an infamous event known only to a few outside this council. It is important to remember that our laws against the misuse of magic and other abilities are there for a reason. It is a troubled time this year, for our long war against those who practice black magic and who associate with necromancers is going ill at the present. The renegade captured today is one that was declared a traitor for her actions. Of those presently alive today, only Seer Sikowitz, Apothecary Lane, the Vega Sisters, Clan Valentine, Clan Harris, and Wizard Oliver have told me and my son Draco, about the facts surrounding the death of Robert Shapiro of the Tribe of AeDen, and the disappearance of Jade West, Changeling of the Winter court of the Sidhe."

Victoria knew then who it was that had been called to account for their transgressions: Jade. The woman responsible for twenty years of grief and mourning for her dead boyfriend. The same woman that broke her cousin's heart that very same day. The same woman that she once thought might love her someday, once upon a time.

Victoria heard a murmur ripple through the assembly, everyone was coming to the same conclusion. She realized that Jade's trial would require testimony from her old peers and instructors, including Draco. That would explain why the Elders would convene instead of leaving the judgment in the hands of the Eldest.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **When Victoria and her peers in the circle of acolytes hit puberty, they were assigned to other instructors. Victoria and a young man named Robbie were chosen by Draco to be his apprentices, while Trina, Beck, and Cat were assigned to Lane Alexander, a retired alchemist and conjurer. Erwin Sikowitz, an old master wizard that seemed to know things he should not, took Jade West and Andre Harris as his apprentices.**_

 _ **For seven years each of the young apprentices trained. The girls grew into young women, each of them attractive in their own right.**_

 _ **Victoria learned from Draco how to use the secret tradition of drake magic to accomplish more things in less time. That tradition normally was only practiced by clan Azhkaran, but she was granted access to the dragon blood of her mentor in a ritual that involved great intimacy with him. No sex occurred, but she did kiss him on the mouth. He had bitten his tongue so that when they kissed she would ingest a portion of his blood. The same thing was offered to Robbie but Rex had persuaded Draco that Robbie didn't need it. Tribe AeDan was composed of skilled Conjuration and transmutation specialists that worked with the spirit world. Victoria's aptitude was in evocation and abjuration spell craft: two areas that were difficult to master if you were a mortal spell-weaver.**_

 _ **Jade learned Divination and Conjuration from Sikowitz, but showed a talent for using Winter Sidhe magic to freeze her opponent in a fight. Jade often tried to ambush Victoria, out of sight of their mentors, hoping to defeat the insolent human who dared to humiliate her time and again in front of Draco. Their fights were often short but brutal in their violence, since drake fire and Winter Sidhe magic were diametrically opposed power sources.**_  
 _ **End flashback**_

Victoria blinked away the memories, and caught the eye of the Eldest. She understood that he considered her to be like a daughter to him since the gift of the dragon blood made her not quite fully mortal any longer. The Eldest called her to the floor, and asked her if she was prepared to give testimony later on in the proceedings. "I am honored to do so, Tarhiras" said the half-drake half-Latina sorceress.

-Meanwhile-

Jade West pulled her cloak tightly around her body. She wasn't concerned about the cold air in the holding cell, she was more uneasy about the fact that after twenty years on the run, she had been captured and brought before the Eldest for execution. The golden scaled drake had denied her pleas for mercy, saying that she would be put on trial for the death of Robbie Shapiro and for the attempted murder of Victoria Vega. She hated the fact that she had been caught during her one attempt to make things right. So she was dabbling in Blood magic, had attempted to resurrect Robbie by using necromancy rites at the same place everything went to pieces: Hollowbrook hotel of downtown Los Angeles. She was just trying to fix her mistakes! She hated that Andre had taken the fall for her crimes. She didn't ask for him to do that. 'Hollowbrook hotel,' she thought to herself, 'it is rumored to be the site where an old Vampire Lord had entertained the Eldest when he had visited on a tour of the provinces'. But twenty years ago Jade had irrevocably altered the astral presence of the hotel. The Venators had obviously been watching the location for any sign she was returning to the scene of the crime.

What was even worse, was that Beckett was there in the Sanctum Sanitoria, and she had sensed her cousin Catarina Valentine in the left hand side of the Sanctum, where the Sidhe of each Court sat in an uneasy truce, for fear of angering the Eldest. Jade sighed to herself. She hadn't meant to break his heart, she just wanted to hurt Tori as badly as she could. She wondered who would speak for her in the trial: Sikowitz? Andre? Maybe Cat?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar chanting from the cell two rows down. She knew that voice. "Andre?"


	3. Of Secrets and Lovers

Of Secrets and Lovers

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not possess the rights of ownership over the characters or setting of Victorious, copyrights or trademarks thereof are the property of Dan Schneider and his associates. I don't write for monetary compensation nor will I accept any recompense for this. I wrote this tale using the characters for purposes of entertainment and just for fun. No offense or infringement is intended, and I have no desire to anger the powers that be. The only thing of my own devising is the persona of Draco Magnus and the various characters of Clan Azhkaran, and the location of Kaer Drakaan, As well as Tribe AeDan and the fictional names used for jade's parents. I don't own the Hollowbrook hotel, and nor would I care to.**_

 _A/n: So the Trial of Jade West commences now. Pay attention to the details of each character's flashbacks, and tell me what you think of the situation in your reviews._

Jade was horrified. It could not be! Andre of Clan Harris, was a prisoner of the eldest, and from the sounds of the ritual chant, was very afraid of something. His chant was a simple plea for forgiveness from the spirits, and a request for courage to face his punishment. It broke her heart to listen to the once confident and lively young houngan essentially pray for the strength to do something nobody had asked him to do. What he had done on the day Robbie died was elective, and certainly not something that pleased Jade. She felt tears slide down her face, ruining the ritualized makeup she had on. With a sniffle, she wiped her tears away. Jade remembered the day she and Andre were chosen by Sikowitz to be his apprentices:

- **Flashback-**

 ** _Draco had summoned all of his current apprentices to his sanctum, for the day had come for the young apprentices to be formally assigned to a master wizard or Sorcerer-lord. Jade was aware that the drake would likely choose at least two apprentices to remain under his tutelage, but the others would be assigned to whomever had shown up to the selection ceremony. She hoped that the Vega clan wouldn't be picked by Draco, since her father, Talot-Reis, was the consort to Lea-aht, a winter Sidhe that served as the handmaiden to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Mab. Her father was a distant, uncaring lord of the Sidhe, while her mother was equally distant, but still loving towards her daughter. She had noticed that Andre was showing some talent for conjuration and illusion magic as well as an in unusual discipline known as Santeria, or ritual magic of the voodoun houngans. Basically, he was the descendant of one of the loa, but most of his heritage was from mortal human beings. As she walked side by side with her cousin Catarina, a changeling of the Summer court of the Sidhe, with her customary annoyingly cheerful disposition a studied contrast to Jades dark and morbid nature. As the students met up in the sanctum, they noticed a pair of humans conversing with their mentor, and realized that selection process begins now. Draco noticed his pupils and said "Welcome Apprentices! I am well pleased to introduce Seer Sikowitz of the Council of Farseers, and Apothecary Lane Alexander of the Alchemist's union." The two humans acknowledged their names with a nod of their heads. The one called Lane remarked that Trina could use extra help, considering her tendency to overestimate her proficiency at illusions and transmutations, and beckoned her to his side. Cat all but begged Lane to teach her how to make bibble potions, which earned her his mentorship. Beck was upset when Sikowitz said that he wouldn't pick the young lad, but Lane also took him under his wing._**

 _ **Draco regarded his remaining apprentices, and began to speak when Sikowitz interrupted: "Draco, I think I recognize Andre as one of the students from my visions. But who is this changeling?"**_

 _ **The drake glowered at the seer, and in a tone that indicated that he was not pleased to be interrupted, answered: "That is Jade West of the Winter court. She is among one of my finest pupils and an excellent fighter, and at times a deceitful wretch. I suppose you want her? ". Sikowitz laughed and nodded. Jade realized with a sinking feeling that Vega and Shapiro would be Draco's students from now on.**_

- **End flashback** -

Jade snapped out of her memories when the Venators open her cell door and also retrieved Andre from his cell. They were lead out of the prison and escorted to the Sanctum Sanitoria, where the Elders were still gathered. A murmur of surprise rippled through the assembly, as it seemed like few were aware that André was still alive after all this time. The Eldest called the gathering to order once more, and then announced "Jade West, you are charged by the Elders with the forbidden use of blood magic for murder, attempted murder, and with attempted use of necromancy to reach beyond the borders of life and death. The outcome of this trial will depend on the testimony of your former peers and instructors, as well as the opinions of the leading officials of the community as to whether we should levy the death penalty for breaking our ancient laws." Jade heard a gasp from the section of the sanctum where the summer court of the Sidhe were sitting, and felt her heart tighten in her chest. Catarina was a changeling whose older brother had been injured by blood magic, and little Cat hated anyone who practiced blood magic, one of the few things that were certain to reveal that she did not act like a carefree songbird in the grasslands of Titania's realm all the time. She noticed Beckett looking at her with a mixture of hurt, anger, and sadness. "He still loves me" she realized. Beside her, Andre was stoically still, but there was regret and grief in his eyes.

The Eldest regarded Andre, and said: "Most of you do not know that when Jade West went rogue, Andre of Clan Harris, scion of one of the Loa, attempted to take the fall for her actions. He approached my son and Victoria to turn himself in. Victoria nearly strangled him in her grief and rage, but he failed to convince my son that he was capable of such a deed, as Draco had not sensed any astral contamination in his aura. More than that, Wizard Oliver had confronted him earlier that day with evidence that Andre was sleeping with Jade during that brief time when they were engaged. While the standard procedure would have been to execute him as an accomplice, the magus praefecti determined from their investigation of the astral space surrounding the Hollowbrook hotel that no sign of Andre's style or tradition was present, but Jade's handiwork was. More shall be said regarding this but-"

At this statement, the whole gathering erupted into a clamor of voices human and inhuman. Victoria for a brief moment felt the familiar anger at her old rival surface, causing her eyes to shift from a soft brown iris to sulfuric molten gold flecked with brown spots, and scales to start erupting from beneath her skin. Draco placed a calming hand on her shoulder, leaned close so no one else could eavesdrop and snarled in a harsh tone : "Victoria, control yourself! Do not give in the rage of Azhkaran. Focus, on the memories while separating your feelings for jade from them ". Victoria recalled her reaction the day after the incident, when she was standing alone in her boyfriend's resting place, while Rex placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and then vanished into the gravesite. Her emotions had been raw, and her drake blood made it difficult to not take on the aspect of her mentor at this time. Her slightly pointed scaled ears and scaled skin stood out in bright contrast to her normal form.

-Flashback-

 _ **No! I am agonizingly alone. My ambition undone. My dreams shattered. My heart broken. My patience is not endless. My rage is undiminished. Robbie is dead! She killed him! She was sleeping with Andre behind my cousins back! My mate is dead, and his bond-spirit cannot revive him! I was going to marry him someday! She chose Beck over me. She couldn't let me be happy!**_

 _ **ARGGHH!**_

 _ **The half-drake let out a draconic roar of fury, breathing a stream of drake fire into the air. Her taloned hands clawed at the headstone, and she sobbed long and hard. After three hours of tears and at least one or two fireball whiskeys, she felt a little better. She returned to the house, marched up to her sanctum, and began to burn every one of the things that Jade had ever gifted her with when they had to do a secret Santa thing for a bet between Draco and Sikowitz. Draco had lost the bet, because he could not name the prophecy that foretold his birth. She had to go on a fake date with Jade and give her a gift for the winter solstice, or else Draco would have to perform underwater theatre for the Sidhe courts.**_

 _ **Yet there was one thing that even in her rage, Victoria could not destroy, a pendant with a picture locket containing an image of the two of them fighting side by side to bring down the Necromancer twins Alan and Chad, of Northridge.**_

 **-end flashback-**


	4. On the Metaphysics of Black Magic

On the Metaphysics of Black Magic

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not possess the rights of ownership over the characters or setting of Victorious, copyrights or trademarks thereof are the property of Dan Schneider and his associates. I don't write for monetary compensation nor will I accept any recompense for this. I wrote this tale using the characters for purposes of entertainment and just for fun. No offense or infringement is intended, and I have no desire to anger the powers that be. The only thing of my own devising is the persona of Draco Magnus and the various characters of Clan Azhkaran, and the location of Kaer Drakaan, As well as Tribe AeDan and the fictional names used for Jade's parents. I don't own the Hollowbrook hotel, and nor would I care to.**_

 _A/n: The Trial of Jade West continues now. Pay attention to the details of each character's flashbacks, Reactions and/or questions, and tell me what you think of the situation in your reviews. We've got a couple more pages on Victoria's testimony coming up, and some interesting information here. Also ,my apologies for being overly late with updating. I've been busy trying to build a powerbase._

Victoria shook off her memories and looked to the Eldest for permission to speak. The Eldest nodded his head and then let out a deep echoing roar. The whole sanctum fell silent, as those present turned their attention to the Half-Drake half Latina sorceress as she approached the prisoners. She looked Jade in the eyes, and started her testimony on jades character and deeds: "When I first met Jade, she poured icy water on my head because she didn't like me being close to my cousin Beckett Oliver. I think back then she had some inkling that he liked her. It was our first day, I was going to be living in a stranger's sanctum, I was so sure I wouldn't fit in. You may not think so to look at me now, but at the time, I was scared, no matter what Trina, my older sister said, that I would prove unworthy of this gift, of magic, of wonder and exciting beings. Having someone reject me like Jade had, hurt me enough that I had confided in my sister and cousin that I wanted to go home. "

She paused, for a moment, remembering _**flashes of cruel laughter from the changeling, her older sister telling her that they would be okay living with Draco, Beck's interest in meeting the daughter of the handmaiden to the monarch of the Unseelie court**_..

Then Victoria found her voice again and continued her speech looking at Andre now: "My friend Andre, for his part, had given me a beautiful speech about how he sensed something special in me, and that if I turned my back on the people that were counting on us to learn responsibility, then I would be living a boring life. He told me that normal is boring, but being unconventional is more fascinating to people. " Victoria then caught the eye of Catarina Valentine, and gave her a sad smile when the Summer Sidhe Changeling waved at her.

Victoria took a breath and resumed her testimony: "After that, for a number of years, we trained under Draco. I got back at her for the ice water by conjuring up fire and incinerating her favorite pair of scissors. Thus started a deadly rivalry between us, she would ambush me out of sight of the other apprentices, seeking to injure me with her winter Sidhe magic. The first few battles were brutal and short, and I usually only barely escaped without severe injuries. It wasn't until I was officially chosen by Draco to be his apprentice, that I was able to practice the same magic used by Clan Azhkaran. Drake fire and Sidhe magic are opposed power sources, which made it easier to defend against her attacks."

 _She shook her head trying to ignore the building sensation that something was attempting to enter the Sanctum, something as old as Tarhiras, but of Darkness, and Malice. She heard ominous whispers and vague promises of power, as well as threats of violence._

At this, a Vampire Lord named Gary Malone stood abruptly and raised his clawed hand to interrupt. The Eldest gave an imperceptible nod of his head, granting Gary the opportunity to to speak: "Why didn't you simply report these attacks to your mentor? The laws that govern the training and education of acolytes and apprentices strictly forbid students of magic from attacking each other without supervision. She could have easily slain you while you were still fully mortal! Our war against the Enemy has seen several occasions of apprentices being killed by traitors in our ranks." The vampire lord was one of the Elders, the Hollowbrook had been part of his domain, and he was the operative partner of David Vega in the Magus Praefecti. The rest of the crowd murmured their assent to his sensible query.

Victoria smiled, revealing a maw of sharp teeth and a forked tongue as her scales began to erupt from underneath her skin, and she replied with amusement to the Vampire: "First, because I had tried several times over the course of the period that I was her fellow apprentice to bury the hatchet with her, as mortals say, because I...had feelings...for her. Like it ever mattered, since she refused to see me as anything other than an enemy. She is a mean, vicious Changeling with deep psychological issues...I guess it was too much to hope for that we could be friends at all."

At this startling news, Jade sucked in a sharp intake of breath, caught off-guard that Victoria would admit to such a thing. "wait, Vega had a crush on me? Why? I thought she was just a people pleaser who talked like a forties glamour star" she marveled to herself. Andre for his part, seemed to briefly regain his old demeanor as if to say "I KNEW IT!" with his body language, but the moment passed. Victoria smiled sadly at Andre's reaction, knowing her old friend was really pleased to confirm his long-held suspicion. Victoria shook her head and returned her gaze to the Vampire Lord and continued: "Second, because it would be a death sentence for her, since her mother is the handmaiden to the Queen of Air and Darkness. If I reported her attacks on me, that would create a diplomatic incident. Third, Draco was already aware of them, as he can attest in his testimony. Tell me, Lord Malone, do the reasons I have outlined seem logical and sound to you?"

Gary shook his head and answered: "Not to the extent that I would like them to be, but my curiosity has been sated. Continue with your testimony. I have no further questions for you at the moment." As Lord Malone sat down, an Elf named Ryder Daniels stood up and asked: "On that note, Victoria, what happened on the day of the Incident? We've all heard some version of this tale, and doubtless many of us have guessed at what happened, but for those of us not clued in, would you kindly answer that?"

The Half-Drake turned her gaze upon the Elf, and said to the assembled gathering: "Patience, Elf. All will become clear as we go on. Before I continue, _Ryder_ , let those of us gathered here remember that the reason Blood magic and Necromancy are forbidden is because every use of magic to recall the spirit or soul of a being back into an expired body fundamentally breaks the natural cycle of life and death. Each use of dark magic weakens everyone's ability to pass on to the next life. Necromancy prevents the resurrected being from passing on completely, even if the flesh vessel is destroyed a second time. And those brought back are in constant pain. Most are unwilling to return to the realm of life, and of the few that are willing, they are cursed to an existence like unto what happened to Rex Powers, Sorceror-lord of Tribe AeDen, bound to an existence that banished them from death. Blood magic is forbidden especially because it is used for the purpose of inflicting pain and suffering to both the soul and the body. Most other forms of combat magic do not run the risk of irreversible damage to one's own psyche- "

Jade couldn't help but interrupt, despite knowing that the Elders would not look favorably upon speaking out of turn: "Victoria...How do you know this? I've been on the run for a long time, and not once during the time we trained together before our official apprenticeships did Draco mention that." Jade could feel the gaze of the entire assembly rest upon her, but to her surprise, none of the Venators made any move to remove her from the Sanctum. Victoria replied to Jade's question while looking her in the eye directly: "While training under Draco, I was paired with Robert Shapiro of Tribe AeDan, the man I grew to love. He was always awkward and, I guess, nerdy. He had a way of working with the spirit world thanks to Rex. During one of our dates, Rex tagged along and revealed why his tribe is good at working with the spirit world. Simply put, Necromancy is an extreme form of Animancy or the ability to manipulate the soul. Tribe AeDen once struck a bargain with a spirit of darkness to attain power over the dead, in a quest for power enough to challenge the Vampires, Wizards and the Elders especially. Rex was their leader. He was the one who struck the deal and was the first Necromancer. Animancy is mainly used to assist in healing the spirit and guide the departed to the borders of life and death."

The Sanctum suddenly began to feel colder and darker, as shadows began to move of their own accord, and one of the Venators began to laugh maniacally. His flesh rippled and distorted into a grotesque mockery of itself, forming the hideous visage of a being composed of shadows and inky mist. The rest of the Venators formed a barrier between the Elders and trial participants and the Darkness Incarnate, an ancient being that could do what most spirits or entities could not: complete and total non-consensual possession of a host.

A/n: Now we see some glimpse of the kind of beings that the Black Magic folks consort with. What do you think shall happen next?


End file.
